Candied Hearts
by maritime-dream
Summary: It's Valentines Day in Jump City, and the Titans are assigned to sell candy in the park. Would the Valentine air finally spark something between Jump City's 'golden couple', or would nothing change? One-shot, rated T for language. Reviews appreciated!


_Hey everyone, I'm really sorry for coming back from a surprise hiatus. I was just really, extremely busy, and didn't have any time for writing. But I'm back, and hopefully I'll be writing way more!_

_Since it's near Valentines, I'm in the mood for a sweet little one-shot. It was inspired while I was listening to 'Valentines', by Kina Grannis. Lovely song, totally sets you in the happy and romantic mood._

_This'll be set after Stranded. As usual, I don't own Teen Titans? Yeah… I don't…._

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><p>Valentines Day in Jump City was something to see. The city was festive and full of life, with young lovers shyly displaying their affections for each other, while older and more experienced couples spent the day in the privacy of their rooms. The romantic ambience had set in on the city, and even the Teen Titans were forced to participate.<p>

A little booth stood in the middle of Jump City Park, a popular spot for young lovers in Jump City. The park was warm and inviting, its lush green grass was bathed in the morning sunlight, the rays encompassing the entire park. Cool winds would occasionally blow, rustling the trees and brushing by the hairs of teenage girls as they giggled with their boyfriends. The booth in the middle of the park stood out against the green grass, covered entirely in pink and adorned with a large red heart that read in bold and glittery letters: 'Valentines Lollies!' Below the sign were two of the Titans, Robin and Raven. The leader of the Teen Titans had his arms crossed and an unhappy look on his face, while his companion wore her usual look of indifference as she read her book stationed in front of her face, completely engrossed in her novel.

Robin was clearly cross, a frown constantly on his face as curious teenagers passed by the booth. A frustrated growl eventually erupted from him, uncrossing his arms and flinging them into the air.

"Argh, why do we have to do this?" He whined, causing Raven to put her book down in annoyance at the sudden sound.

"Do we have to go through this again?" She sighed, rolling her eyes. "We're doing this to raise funds for the local orphanage, so that they can, you know, afford food and stuff like that." Robin opened his mouth to whinge again, but Raven continued on. "Having us, the Titans, sell these candies," Raven gestured towards the pile of butterscotch lollipops that were laid out on the table in front of them, "would definitely help with the sales."

"Well, it's not like we're free today!" Robin argued.

"Uh, I don't think any evil-doers would commit any crimes today." Raven droned. "They've all got dates of their own. Heard Jinx gossiping about it a few days before. Besides, we've got three other Titans constantly on the watch, Jump City isn't going to be destroyed today." Robin opened his mouth to refute her argument, but he couldn't think of a good comeback, so he contented himself with crossing his arms again and huffing like a spoiled child. Raven rolled her eyes. "Relax, Robin, your shift's almost over anyway." Robin narrowed his eyes.

"Yeah, but I've got another one later today." The empath could only sigh and prop the book up in front of her face again, ignoring his grumblings. "It's not like I even like this stinking holiday! So lots of people get together and gush over how much they love each other, pft, big deal!" Raven sighed again, this time much louder. Robin took the hint and settled down, though his face still bore a mean glare.

**-x-**

It was late afternoon in Jump City, the dark orange sky casting a warm glow on the city's park. The booth was still situated in the middle, its stock of lollipops clearly depleted. A few still lay out on the table, with two Titans watching over the candy.

Starfire was gazing intently out at the small crowd in the park, eyes on a boy that had just bought a lollipop. He carried the golden candy towards a girl that sat by a tree, shyly offering her the lollipop. She blushed and accepted, and the couple giggled happily. Starfire sighed contentedly, an idiotic smile plastered on her face. Robin leaned over to check on his teammate, not surprised to see a happy smile on her face. He also couldn't help but notice how lovely the orange sunset complimented her tan skin, and how it brightened her eyes… He quickly shooed the thoughts away from his mind.

"Why're you smiling?" He asked, a faint smirk on his lips.

"Oh, Robin." Starfire clasped her hands in front of her and looked at her friend with warm, glowing green eyes. "This day of Valentines is most certainly enjoyable! I have just observed a successful courting ritual between two humans, and their happiness over this accomplishment seems to have infected me!" She grinned and gestured towards the young couple. Both Titans glanced in her direction, only to see the young couple locked in a kiss. Robin and Starfire's gazes quickly flickered back, both of them staring down at their own feet.

"Is this your first time celebrating Valentines?" Robin asked with a quiet cough, trying to get rid of the uncomfortable silence that had settled between them. Starfire nodded shyly, tucking a lock of her auburn hair behind her ear.

"I find Earth and its customs most interesting." She replied. "The buying of colorful flora and candies for one's beloved seems… Appealing. How do you celebrate this Earthen holiday, Robin?" Robin gulped. He had always tried to steer clear of any hint of romance in his conversations with Starfire, but on Valentines Day, the topic seemed inevitable.

"I don't really celebrate this kind of stuff, Star." He began, but was interrupted when a young couple approached the booth.

"Hi, two lollipops, please?" The boy spoke up as he extended a hand that held a few dollars. His other arm was slung around his girlfriend, smiling timidly at the two Titans. Starfire gave the couple a pleasant smile and handed the boy two lollipops as she collected the money from him. "Thanks!" And with that, the couple walked off, chattering and laughing happily as they nibbled on their candies.

"Those two are boyfriend and girlfriend, yes?" Starfire asked her friend as the young couple walked off. Robin cringed at the word 'girlfriend', though he nodded. "Fascinating." She murmured.

"What's so… Fascinating about them, Star?" Robin asked nervously, aware that he was stepping into an uncharted territory.

"I just find the thought of two people sharing their love quite interesting…" Starfire began, looking up at the orange sky. "Tamaraneans, as you know, are an expressive race, but our methods of displaying affection are quite different from Earth's."

"How so?" Asked Robin, sincerely curious. Starfire was the most expressive person he'd ever known, her behavior entranced him to no end. Starfire paused, her brow furrowed in thought.

"Your Earth custom of kissing is quite different from Tamaran's." She said, noticing Robin wince at the word 'kiss'. "Humans seem to treat the 'first kiss', as they call it, with great reverence. I've often wondered if a first kiss would feel as glorious as they describe it." Starfire's eyes reflected longing as she looked back out at the happy couples, stretching forward to rest her head on her hands, her elbows on the table to support herself. Robin blinked, eyebrows raised in slight confusion.

"But Star, didn't you already have your… Erp…. First kiss?" _With me?_ He finished the sentence in his head, unwilling to say it out loud. Starfire looked back up at him, confusion on her face, then realization.

"Oh, _that_…" She'd always referred to her chaotic arrival on Earth and their meeting as that. "That was merely a language transfer." She explained, seeing Robin's puzzled expression. "Tamaraneans are able to learn languages through lip contact, and that was how I learned English, through you." Robin seemed to digest this information slowly before he spoke again.

"So that… When we first met, it wasn't a-" Starfire shook her head.

"It was a simple transfer of languages, not a kiss." She had half-expected Robin to make a big show of being relieved, such as exhaling loudly, laughing it off or making a passing comment about it. Instead, Starfire could have sworn she had seen a look of disappointment cross his face, but it was gone before she could confirm it.

"Oh…" Was all Robin could say before the uncomfortable silence quickly settled in between them again. He didn't dare to steal glances at Starfire, instead contenting himself with the task of studying the lollipops. It was the first time he had really given the candies a good look-over, the rest of the time spent whining or wishing that he were back at the Tower with the rest of the Titans.

The lollipop was made entirely up of butterscotch, the golden candy molded into a rough heart shape. A clear plastic wrapping covered the lollipop, tied down to the stick with a pink bow.

He was interrupted from his thoughts when another bashful boy came by their stand, asking to buy a lolly. Robin handed him the candy he was examining, taking in the dollar from the boy. As usual, Starfire observed as the boy made his way to a girl, handing her the lollipop. The Tamaranean sighed loudly when the couple began giggling merrily, causing Robin to mentally slap himself.

_You were having a perfectly pleasant conversation with her, and you had to ruin it with your childish inability to comprehend romance._ Robin scolded himself. _Hey, she was talking about Valentines and all that mushy stuff, how were we going to avoid romance?_ His more logical side pleaded. _Well, she's obviously hinting that she wants you to start, y'know, dating… He rolled his eyes at that thought. Oh please, like she'll ever want me as a boyfriend. I've worked way too hard to become her best friend, and there's no way I'm going to risk losing her. And besides, she's got admirers from all over Jump City, why would she want the romantically retarded guy? Hey, she seemed pretty upset the last time you denied her as a girlfriend, and that took a lot of effort to fix. She just misunderstood the term. Did not!_ Robin fought the urge to really start hitting himself. _I am _not_ having another mental argument with myself. Stupid Valentines Day, must be infecting my mind with all these thoughts._ He was only roused from his thoughts when an older couple approached the table.

"Well, if it isn't Jump City's golden couple!" The male of the duo said with a hearty laugh. Starfire and Robin exchanged confused glances.

"Golden what?" Robin repeated. The woman shook her head, hands planted on her hips.

"Honey, the entire city knows that you two are together." She said bluntly, causing Robin to double back.

"She's not my girlfriend!" He said vehemently, and then clamped his mouth shut. He'd said it again. The four words that would always set Starfire off. Robin didn't dare look at her direction; afraid of the reaction he would see. The couple only laughed off his denial.

"Sure buddy, whatever you say. Hey, can we get two of those lollipops? They look really good." The man said with a beam, handing the two Titans a wad of cash. Starfire smiled weakly, handing him two lollies and watching the couple walk off.

"Star, I didn't mean-" Robin began his fumbled apology, but Starfire cut him off.

"I know what you mean, Robin." She said stiffly, refusing to look at him. "You made your feelings towards that word perfectly clear when we were stranded on that planet." Starfire gave him a sad smile. "Perhaps the atmosphere and feelings of this Earthen holiday has indeed infected me, and caused me to desire the colorful flora and candies these human couples share." Robin wanted to interject, to give another clumsy apology, but she continued on, placing a reassuring hand on top of his own. "Robin, you are my best friend, and I would not want to lose you. Let us not discuss this any further." Robin was left speechless, unable to decide if he should pursue the subject or list out the many imaginary reasons why they weren't 'boyfriend and girlfriend' as Starfire withdrew her hand.

_Is _that_ obvious enough for you, Boy Blunder?_ A smug voice crept into his head. _This is probably a huge mistake! A desperate he countered. She wouldn't want me! Oh, but she does! And now you've gone and made her upset._ Robin drew a weary breath, deep in his thoughts. _But… But I'm the leader of the Titans. Going out with her would definitely screw things up! Bullshit. You really should stop trying to think up of crap reasons to not be together with her._

"It seems like we only have one candy left." Starfire noted, causing Robin to snap out of his mental debate. "The park is empty… What shall we do?" She turned her emerald eyes back on him.

"I… I can buy it." Robin mumbled and offered her a dollar, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible. Her eyes widened with curiosity, handing him the lollipop and taking the money from him.

"Then I suppose our shift is over?" She asked. Robin nodded.

"Yeah, I guess so… Hey, Star?"

"Yes, Robin?" Starfire eyed him carefully, trying to figure out what was with his sudden change in attitude.

"Nothing! Nothing. Well, I'm going back to the Tower. We can clean up tomorrow, see you!" Robin zipped off before she could utter another word, leaving Starfire alone in the park and quite confused.

**-x-**

Starfire was splayed out across her pink bed. Silkie lay next to her, purring contentedly as she patted him.

"Oh, Silkie…" Starfire sighed, resting her head on one hand. "Today did not go so well. I dropped many hints during our shift, but he simply did not take, as they say, 'the bait'." Silkie only purred louder, rolling over and playfully nibbling her. "I suppose my first day of Valentines will not be a happy one… Perhaps I should sleep, at least my schlorvaks bring me happiness." Starfire was interrupted from her musings when she heard a knock on the door. She sighed, obviously not in the mood for any small talk, but she got up and punched a button, causing the door to slide open.

Starfire gasped when she saw who it was. "R-Robin?" The leader of the Titans stood in front of her, a peach colored rose in one hand and the lollipop he had purchased earlier in the other hand. Robin obviously didn't look too happy with the get-up, but he did visibly brighten when he saw Starfire.

"Hey Star, I'm sorry I left so suddenly just now…" Starfire didn't respond, still staring at him with a blatant look of surprise. He coughed nervously, trying to break the silence. "I'm sorry about earlier today, it's just that…. It's just that I'm stupid, you know?"

"Oh Robin, you are certainly not stupid." Starfire began, but he shook his head.

"Actually, I kind of am. I couldn't notice how much our relationship meant to me, and how I do want more. I know it's only a few hours till midnight but Star," Robin drew a deep breath and offered her the butterscotch lollipop, "will you be my Valentine?"

It took a few moments for her to process Robin's words and what he meant, but once she did, Starfire surged forward and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "Yes, I gladly accept!" She shouted joyously.

In the heat of the moment, before she even had time to think, Starfire pressed her lips against Robin's. The action caught him completely by surprise, but a warm and pleasant feeling flooded him, causing him to relax and wrap his own arms around her. The kiss was short but sweet, ending with Starfire pulling away from him, amazed with her own action. She was ready to apologize to Robin for her boldness, but when she saw the happy, completely idiotic smile on his face, she only giggled and accepted the lolly from him. Her voice seemed to snap Robin out of his little trance, though the silly smile was still on his face.

"So that was a kiss?" He asked with a grin. Starfire nodded and leaned into him.

"Indeed, and a glorious one, if I may add."

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><p><em>Ta-da! I'm super sorry for not being able to update Save Your Heart, but I needed to get the sappiness out of me, haha. So submit a review, please! I do love one-shots, and I hope everyone has a happy Valentines day! I'll be alone. Again. Ha. Not funny.<em>

_To anyone that curious about the meaning behind a peach-colored rose, look it up yourself! It's a sweet meaning, and I think it describes their situation perfectly, haha._


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